hKP 
 
 Delinquent and Wayward 
 
 Children. 
 
 NEW MASSACHUSETTS METHODS OF 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 1. THE LAW OF 1906 (CHAPTER 413) TOGETHER WITH AN ANALYSIS OF 
 THE NEW LEGISLATION AND A COMPARISON OF ITS PROVISIONS 
 WITH THOSE OF FORMER STATUTES. 
 
 2. THE LAW (CHAPTER 489, ACTS OF 1906) ESTABLISHING THE 
 
 BOSTON JUVENILE COURT. 
 
 Prepared For Publication Bt 
 WARREN F. SPALDING. 
 
 Published by the Boston Section, Council of Jewish Women, in co-operation 
 with the Civic Committee of the Massachusetts Federation of 
 Women’s Clubs and the Fathers’ and Mothers’ 
 
 Club of Boston. 
 
 January, 1907. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 CAUSTIC-CLAFLIN COMPANY, PRINTERS 
 32 Brattle Street 
 1907 
 
“The problem of the children is the problem of the State. 
 As we mould the children of the toiling masses in our cities, 
 so we shape the destinies of the State, which they will rule in 
 turn, taking the reins from our hands. In proportion as we 
 neglect them, or pass them by, the blame for bad government 
 to come rests upon us .”—Jacob Riis. 
 
 “What are you going to do, my brother, for the higher 
 side of human life? What contribution are you going to 
 make of your strength, your time, your influence, your money, 
 your self, to make a cleaner, fuller, happier, larger, nobler 
 life possible for some of your fellow men ?”—Hejny Van 
 Dyke. 
 
 Copies of this pamphlet may be had on application to the 
 Massachusetts Prison Association, 56 Pemberton Square, or to the 
 Massachusetts Civic League, 4 Joy Street, Boston. 
 
DELINQUENT AND WAYWARD CHILDREN. 
 
 NEW MASSACHUSETTS METHODS OF TREATMENT. 
 
 The legislature of 1906 enacted two new laws in relation to 
 the treatment of juvenile offenders—Chapter 413, “An Act Rela¬ 
 tive to Delinquent Children,” and Chapter 489, “An Act to Es¬ 
 tablish the Boston Juvenile Court.” The former applies to the 
 entire state; the latter creates a special court for juvenile cases 
 within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of the city of Bos¬ 
 ton. 
 
 The purpose of both laws is well stated in the first: 
 
 “This Act shall be liberally construed to the end that the care, 
 custody and discipline of the children brought before the court shall 
 approximate as nearly as possible that which they should receive from 
 their parents, and that, as far as practicable, they shall be treated, not 
 as criminals, but as children in need of aid, encouragement and 
 guidance.” 
 
 JUVENILE MISDEEDS NOT NECESSARILY CRIMINAL. 
 
 No one who understands youthful wrongdoers needs to be 
 convinced that there is a wide difference between the offences of 
 children and those of adults. A considerable proportion of those 
 committed by children and youth are in no proper sense “crimes.” 
 They are violations of city ordinances, and of town by-laws, which 
 forbid in one place acts which are permitted in another. These 
 prohibitions are made necessary by the exigencies of modern life. 
 There is no moral quality in the violations, but under the old 
 laws they were treated like serious crimes. 
 
 There is another class of juvenile misdeeds which, in them¬ 
 selves, are criminal—such as larceny, burglary, etc., but few 
 youthful offenders commit these acts from the same motives 
 which impel adults to commit them, or have any clear idea of 
 their seriousness. Their conceptions are those of children or 
 youth—with the errors and defects of immaturity. The civil 
 laws of the state recognize this immaturity in many ways. A boy 
 or girl, even of twenty, is legally incapable of making a binding 
 contract. The enactment of the new legislation will make our 
 civil and criminal laws more consistent than they have been. 
 
 The remedy for the defects of the existing system was found 
 to be a change in the statutory relation between children and the 
 
state. Under the law which has been passed, the misdeed of a 
 child is still recognized as something to be dealt with by the 
 courts, not, however, as a crime, to be punished, but as an act 
 which warrants the state in making the offender its ward, with all 
 which that implies of judicial relations and responsibilities. 
 
 COMMITMENT OF ARRESTED CHILDREN. 
 
 Under the new law, if children are arrested without war¬ 
 rants, they are booked by the police for the offences with which 
 they are charged, as heretofore. But their treatment by the 
 police is changed to some extent. The old law prohibited the 
 commitment of a child under twelve years of age to a police sta¬ 
 tion, to a county prison or to the state farm, pending an examina¬ 
 tion, in default of bail or for the non-payment of a fine, or upon 
 a conviction of any offence not punishable by death or imprison¬ 
 ment for life. (R. L. 86 , § 20, as amended by St. 1902, 314.) 
 The new law (§3) raises the age to fourteen. An exception is 
 made in case of a hoy twelve or over, arrested in the act of vio¬ 
 lating a law of the Commonwealth, or on a warrant. The arrest¬ 
 ing officer may commit such a boy to a lock-up, police station or 
 house of detention, but he cannot be committed to a prison for 
 any cause. The power of an arresting officer to commit to a jail 
 a boy or girl twelve years of age or over, who has been arrested 
 by him (R. L. 86, § 18), is so far modified by section 3 (par. 3) 
 that a child under fourteen cannot be so committed. 
 
 In order that children may not be detained longer than is 
 necessary after arrest, provision is made for immediate notice to 
 the parent or custodian of a child held in a lock-up, police station 
 or house of detention, and also for notifying a probation officer. 
 If the probation officer is willing to become responsible for the 
 child’s appearance for examination, the child may be released 
 to him upon his written request, unless the officer who made the 
 commitment has made a written request for his detention. (§3.) 
 The probation officer has the same power in relation to a child 
 so released to him which he would have if he were surety upon 
 his recognizance. (§5.) 
 
 Under the old law, every child who had passed his seventh 
 birthday was presumed to be capable of committing a crime, and 
 might be held responsible for it. If a boy of seven or above com¬ 
 mitted an offence, he was complained of and tried in a criminal 
 court (for the “juvenile session” is the session of a criminal 
 court) ; was required to “plead” to the charge; was “convicted” 
 and “sentenced” as an adult would be, and, if above twelve years 
 old, might be committed to an institution used mainly for adults. 
 The methods of procedure were those used in the trial of the most 
 dangerous criminal, and the record of conviction could never be 
 effaced. 
 
 2 
 
PROCEDURE IN CASE OF DELINQUENT CHILD. 
 
 A “delinquent child” is defined by the new law as “any boy 
 or girl between the ages of seven and seventeen years who violates 
 any city ordinance or town by-law, or commits an offence not 
 punishable by death or by imprisonment for life.” (§ i.) When 
 a complaint, is to be made against any such boy or girl, its form 
 will depend upon the age of the child. If between seven and 
 fourteen years of age, the initial complaint must be for being a 
 “delinquent child.” If a child is above fourteen the court may 
 institute delinquency proceedings, or, if it shall think it more de¬ 
 sirable, may begin criminal proceedings instead. (§ ii.) 
 
 If delinquency proceedings are instituted against a child be¬ 
 tween seven and fourteen they may be dismissed by the court 
 after a hearing, and criminal proceedings may be begun. But 
 this power to substitute criminal proceedings for delinquency 
 proceedings is rigidly limited by law. There is one express con¬ 
 dition. The court must be of opinion that both the welfare of 
 the child and “the interests of the public” require that the child 
 should be tried for crime instead of being dealt with as a delin¬ 
 quent child. (§ II.) It is not probable that there will be many 
 of these exceptional cases in which criminal proceedings will be 
 considered necessary. 
 
 When the complaint has been made to the court, the proba¬ 
 tion officer must make a thorough investigation of the case. 
 This investigation is much broader than that made in cases of 
 adults. He must report “regarding the character of the child, 
 his school record, his home, his surroundings and the previous 
 complaints against him, if any.” He must “be present in the 
 court at the trial of the case, and furnish the court with such as¬ 
 sistance as shall be required,” and at the end of the probation 
 period he must make a report as to the child’s conduct. (§7.) 
 
 DELINQUENCY PROCEEDINGS NOT TO BE DEEMED CRIMINAL. 
 
 The proceedings to prove that a boy or girl is a “delinquent 
 child” resemble those by which one is proved to be a “neglected 
 child.” “Delinquency” is a condition and not an offence, and 
 the law declares, definitely, that the court proceedings in delin¬ 
 quency cases “shall not be deemed to be criminal proceedings.” 
 The allegation is that the boy or girl is a “delinquent child.” A 
 plea cannot be required, as a child cannot be “guilty” of delin¬ 
 quency ; but proof that an offence has been committed is the es¬ 
 sential factor in establishing a condition of “delinquency.” When 
 the evidence has been heard, if, in the opinion of the court, the al¬ 
 legation shall have been proved, the child will not be “convicted,” 
 but will be “adjudged to be” a “delinquent child.” (§8.) This 
 
 3 
 
judgment is not that the child has done something punishable, 
 but that he is a person who needs care, training, restraint, cor¬ 
 rection. 
 
 SUMMONSES AND WARRANTS. 
 
 The proceedings between the issuing of the warrant and the 
 trial of the case are similar to those under the old law, but some 
 of the details have been changed. Under the old statute (R. L. 
 86,'§ 15) a summons must be issued, instead of a warrant, if a 
 child complained of was under twelve years of age. If he failed 
 to appear, the court might issue a warrant. It was also provided 
 (R. L. 217, § 24) that upon complaint for an offence within the 
 jurisdiction of trial justices, a summons should be issued, instead 
 of a warrant (regardless of the age of the accused), unless, in 
 the judgment of the court, there was reason to believe that he 
 would not appear upon a summons. The new law (§3) raises to 
 fourteen the age of a child to whom a summons, instead of a war¬ 
 rant, rmist be issued, and requires it in all cases unless there is 
 reason to believe that the child will not appear upon a summons. 
 
 Under the old law (R. L. 86, § 17), a summons to the father, 
 mother, guardian or custodian of the child to attend the trial was 
 usually issued after the child had been brought before the court. 
 This necessitated a continuance of the case. If the child is sum¬ 
 moned, the new law (§4) directs the issue of a similar summons 
 to the parent, etc., but permits its issue at the same time that the 
 summons is issued to the child, avoiding postponement in some 
 cases. 
 
 PROVISIONS REGARDING CONTINUANCES AND APPEALS. 
 
 Under the old law large numbers of children were commit¬ 
 ted to jail when cases were continued for examination, or for 
 trial in the superior court. The new law remedies this by pro¬ 
 viding (§5) that a child under fourteen, who is unable to furnish 
 bail, ‘‘shall be committed to the care of the State Board of 
 Charity, or of a probation officer.” This raises the age from 
 twelve to fourteen, and permits a probation officer, as well as the 
 State Board, to provide for the child’s safe keeping and for its 
 appearance. 
 
 If a child fourteen or more years of age is unable to furnish 
 bail for trial or on an appeal, the court must make immediate 
 inquiry whether the child will probably appear if placed in care 
 of a probation officer, and unless it is of opinion that the child 
 will not appear, it must commit him to such officer. Under these 
 provisions, there can be no commitments of children to jail, ex¬ 
 cepting a comparatively few who cannot be trusted to appear if 
 committed to the probation officer. 
 
 4 
 
COURT SESSIONS FOR CHILDREN'S CASES. 
 
 The section (6) in relation to sessions for the trial of chil¬ 
 dren compels the exclusion of minors so that they may not hear 
 trials of other cases than their own, unless they are witnesses, or, 
 in the opinion of the court, their presence is necessary in the in¬ 
 terests of justice. As far as it is practicable, sessions for chil¬ 
 dren must be held in rooms not used for the trial of criminal cases. 
 
 DISPOSAL or CASES OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN. 
 
 The boy or girl who has been adjudged to be a delinquent 
 child becomes, practically, the ward of the court. The interest of 
 the child is to be sought in the disposal of the case. If the home 
 is bad, the child may be put into a better one. It cannot be com¬ 
 mitted to a jail or house of correction, but if a state law has 
 been violated, may be sent to any other institution to which it 
 might have been committed under the old law—to the Lyman 
 or the Industrial School (in Boston to the Suffolk School for 
 Boys) or to one of the state reformatories. But the spirit of the 
 law requires that this should not be done until the court, in the 
 use of all its machinery, has exhausted its power for good; has 
 done its utmost for the restoration of the delinquent without 
 commitment. It is believed that the restraints of supervision by 
 probation officers will prove far more effective than small money 
 penalties, which, under the old law, if not paid, were enforced 
 by the imprisonment of children with adult criminals. 
 
 NEW CORRECTIONAL POWERS GIVEN TO COURTS. 
 
 The new law gives to the court important new powers over 
 juvenile probationers. Though it may not fine a boy or girl, in 
 the first instance, for delinquency or waywardness, the power to 
 use the fine as a means of securing good behavior is merely 
 delayed. It may impose upon the probationer such conditions 
 as it chooses,—whatever will secure proper conduct. If the 
 child so placed on probation fails to keep the conditions imposed, 
 the court may impose a fine for the violation. (§ 9.) This 
 power to enforce good conduct after a boy or girl has been found 
 to be a delinquent or wayward child seems likely to be more 
 valuable than the imposition of a fine for a past misdeed. The 
 old law punishes an offence already committed, and the court 
 had no farther control of the offender; under the new law the 
 impending fine for misconduct while on probation gives the court 
 a control of the probationer, and puts upon the probation officer 
 the duty of supervision. 
 
 The exercise of the strictly penal powers of the court is dis¬ 
 couraged and made difficult by the new law, but its correctional 
 
 5 
 
powers are greatly enlarged. The emphasis is placed upon a 
 child’s future conduct, instead of upon his past,—as it was when 
 penalties were imposed, under the old system. 
 
 REPARATION AND RESTITUTION. 
 
 Section 12 provides for the application of a power which 
 has been much needed. No provision has existed for directly 
 compelling restitution or reparation by the order of the court. 
 If a fine was imposed it went into the public treasury, and not to 
 the injured person. The new law provides (§ 12) that if a child 
 has committed an act involving liability in a civil action, the 
 court may require, as a condition of probation, that he shall 
 make restitution or reparation to the. injured person. Some 
 courts accomplished this purpose under the old law by ordering 
 a continuance, with the understanding that if reparation or resti¬ 
 tution was made within a certain time, that fact would be taken 
 into consideration in the final disposition of the case. The new 
 law gives statutory recognition to the principle, and provides 
 machinery for securing the desired result. 
 
 The moral effect of requiring a child to make restitution is 
 of great value, especially in cases of malicious and mischievous 
 wrong-doing. If a boy who has stolen is compelled to make 
 restitution to the owner, or the boy who has injured the person 
 or property of another is compelled to make reparation, he may 
 learn a lesson far more valuable than that which comes from 
 paying a fine into the public treasury for violating the law. It 
 will emphasize his relations to others, as well as to the state. 
 
 PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR DELINQUENCY OF CHILD. 
 
 The responsibility of parents for the conduct of their chil¬ 
 dren is recognized in Section 13, which authorizes the punish¬ 
 ment of any parent who is found to have been responsible for the 
 waywardness or delinquency of a boy or girl who has been ad¬ 
 judged to be a wayward or delinquent child. This provision, 
 extending to others as well as to parents, has been used very 
 effectively in many other states. Much of the juvenile crime is 
 due to the indifference and neglect of parents. In some cases 
 it is due to direct training in crime on the part of parents. The 
 fathers and mothers cause the juvenile crime, and the penalties 
 are imposed upon the children. This section will enable the 
 courts to place the responsibility where it belongs,—upon tlie 
 parents. 
 
 A NEW CLASS-WAYWARD CHILDREN. 
 
 The old law provided for dealing with “juvenile offenders’’ 
 and with “neglected children.” A neglected child is defined as 
 one under sixteen years of age, who “by reason of orphanage or 
 
 6 
 
of the neglect, crime or drunkenness, or other vice of hs parents, 
 is growing up without education or without salutary control, or in 
 circumstances exposing him to lead an idle or dissolute life, or is 
 dependent upon public charity.” (Acts of 1903, chap. 334, § i.) 
 
 But all who know child-life are aware that there are boys 
 and girls who are on the road to criminality who cannot be 
 proved to be “neglected” in the sense in which the word is used in 
 the statute. The child has a home; its parents are not criminals; 
 but its associations and surroundings are bad, and it is only a 
 question of time when it will commit a crime. Though the result 
 is almost certain, little could be done. 
 
 The new law creates a new class with which the courts may 
 deal. “A boy or girl between seven and seventeen years of age 
 who habitually associates with vicious or immoral persons, or 
 who is growing up in circumstances exposing him or her to lead 
 an immoral, vicious or criminal life,” is a “wayward child” in 
 the eye of the law. It is not necessary to wait for the boy or girl 
 to commit crime. A complaint for “waywardness” instead of 
 “delinquency” may be made, and the child may be brought into 
 court. The methods of procedure are the same as in delinquency 
 cases. Of course, the child cannot be punished, but it can be 
 placed under restraint. If it is adjudged a “wayward child” the 
 court may place it in the tare of the probation officer, for such 
 time and upon such conditions as may seem proper, or may deal 
 with it in the manner provided by law for the disposal of the 
 case of a neglected child.* (§8.) 
 
 The purpose of authorizing the court to deal with a “way¬ 
 ward” child is purely preventive. The State asserts its right to 
 guard the child from the peril of becoming a criminal. Some¬ 
 times a case can be made against a boy or girl whose parents 
 have done their best, but are unable to control their child. Some¬ 
 times against one who is allowed to have his own way, regard¬ 
 less of consequences. The new provision may be made specially 
 effective in cases of girls whose conduct, while not criminal, ex¬ 
 poses them to serious temptations. 
 
 NEW RELATIONS BETWEEN COURTS AND JUVENILE OFFENDERS. 
 
 A review of the provisions of the new law reveals the fact 
 that it imposes upon the courts many new duties and responsibili¬ 
 ties in relation to juvenile offenders. The commission of an 
 
 *The powers of the court in case of a neglected child, and ap¬ 
 plicable to a “wayward child,” are very broad. The court may continue 
 the complaint and may allow the child to be placed in. the care of 
 some suitable person or charitable corporation, upon his or its furnish¬ 
 ing surety for the further appearance of the child; or may make such 
 further orders with reference to the care and custody of the child as 
 may conduce to its best interests, or may commit the child to the cus¬ 
 tody of the State Board of Charity during its minority, or for a less 
 time. (Acts of 1903, chap. 334, § 3.) 
 
offence which brings a child before the court establishes a new 
 relation between them which does not end, as now, with the im¬ 
 position of a penalty. The presumption of the new law is that 
 such a child needs the supervision of the court in his own home, 
 and the helpful restraint and inspiration of the probation officer. 
 The system centers about this officer, who must be in close con¬ 
 tact with the child and its family through the probation period, 
 which may be made as long as the court considers necessary. 
 
 In the performance of his duties and of his trust the probation 
 officer must have assistance. The most important aid must come 
 from those who administer the schools. The schools and the 
 courts must co-operate. The work cannot be accomplished unless 
 they are in the closest relations, so that the court may know the 
 school record, from week to week. The probation officer must 
 have the help of the teacher. 
 
 The new system also affords new opportunities for the co¬ 
 operation of volunteer workers. In other states this service has 
 been rendered by large numbers of persons, who have undertaken 
 the oversight and supervision of probation children, under the 
 direction of the court, and in co-operation with the probation 
 officer. These volunteers have rendered invaluable aid, especial¬ 
 ly as friendly visitors in the homes, supplementing the official 
 work of the paid probation officers. Few opportunities of use¬ 
 fulness exceed in value those afforded by this work, and volun¬ 
 teers, when carefully selected and wisely directed, are of very 
 great assistance to the court, in its new duty of removing the 
 causes of juvenile crime; of improving the surroundings and as¬ 
 sociates of court children and of directing them into right ways. 
 
 The duty of rendering such service is suggested by the 
 declaration of Judge Mack of the Chicago Juvenile Court, who 
 says: “When every successful man, every man who has been 
 successful in the best sense, takes one child to look after and 
 guide through life, the juvenile delinquency question will be 
 solved.” 
 
 The latest Massachusetts legislation, by its provisions for the 
 judicial treatment of delinquent and wayward children, puts the 
 Commonwealth in advance of all other states. The great need 
 is of a public sentiment which shall support the courts in their 
 administration of the law, together with the co-operation of many 
 individuals in behalf of those whose necessities are so great. 
 
 8 
 
AN ACT RELATIVE TO DELINQUENT CHILDREN. 
 
 [Acts of 1906 , Chapter 413 .] 
 
 Section i. The word ‘‘court/’ whenever used in this act, 
 shall be construed to mean a police, district or municipal court, 
 or a trial justice. 
 
 The words “probation officer” shall be construed to mean a 
 probation officer or assistant probation officer of the court having 
 jurisdiction of the pending case. 
 
 The term “delinquent child” shall be construed to mean any 
 boy or girl between the ages of seven and seventeen years, who 
 violates any city ordinance or town by-law, or commits an 
 offence not punishable by death or by imprisonment for life. 
 
 The words “wayward child” shall be construed to mean a 
 boy or girl between seven and seventeen years of age who 
 habitually associates with vicious or immoral persons, or who is 
 growing up in circumstances exposing him or her to lead an 
 immoral, vicious or criminal life. 
 
 Section 2. This act shall be liberally construed to the end 
 that the care, custody and discipline of the children brought be¬ 
 fore the court shall approximate as nearly as possible that which 
 they should receive from, their parents, and that, as far as practi¬ 
 cable, they shall be treated, not as criminals, but as children in 
 need of aid, encouragement and guidance. Proceedings against 
 children under this act shall not be deemed to be criminal pro¬ 
 ceedings. 
 
 Section 3. If complaint is made to any court that a boy 
 or girl between the ages of seven and seventeen years is a way¬ 
 ward child or a delinquent child, said court shall examine on 
 oath the complainant and the witnesses, if any, produced by him, 
 and shall reduce the complaint to writing, and cause it to be 
 subscribed by the complainant. 
 
 If said child is under fourteen years of age, said court shall 
 first issue a summons requiring it to appear before such court 
 at the time and place named therein, and such summons shad be 
 issued in all other cases, instead of a warrant, unless, in the judg¬ 
 ment of the court, there is reason to believe that he or she will 
 not appear upon a summons, in which case, or in any case in 
 which a child has been summoned as aforesaid and did not ap¬ 
 pear, said court may issue a warrant reciting the substance of the 
 complaint, and requiring the officer to whom it is directed forth¬ 
 with to take such child and bring it before said court to be dealt 
 with according to law, and to summon such witnesses as shall be 
 named therein to appear and give evidence at the examination. 
 
 A child under fourteen years of age shall not be committed 
 to a lock-up, police station or house of detention, to a jail or 
 house of correction, to the state farm, or the house of correction 
 at Deer Island in the city of Boston, pending an examination, in 
 
 9 
 
default of bail, or for the non-payment of a fine, except as pro¬ 
 vided in sections five and nine, or upon conviction of any offence 
 not punishable by death or imprisonment for life: provided, that 
 a boy tv/elve years of age or over, arrested in the act of violating 
 a law of the Commonwealth, or on a warrant, may, in the dis¬ 
 cretion of the arresting officer, be committed to a lock-up, police 
 station or house of detention. 
 
 Whenever a child under seventeen years of age has been 
 committed to a lock-up, police station or house of detention the 
 probation officer and at least one of its parents, and, if there is 
 no parent, then the person with whom such child resides, shall 
 be notified at once of said commitment. The officer of the place 
 of custody in which such child is confined, on the written request 
 of the probation officer, shall release such child to him, unless the 
 officer who made the commitment shall make a written request 
 for his detention. Said probation officer shall notify such child 
 of the time and place of the hearing of its case. 
 
 SectiO'N 4. If a boy or girl is brought before such court 
 upon a warrant, or has been summoned to appear, as provided 
 in the preceding section, a summons shall be issued to at least 
 one of its parents, if either of them is known to reside within 
 the city or town where such child was found, and, if there is no 
 such parent, then to its lawful guardian, if there is one known to 
 be so resident, and if not, then to the person with whom such 
 child resides, if known. Said summons shall require the person 
 upon whom it is served to appear at a time and place stated 
 therein, and show cause why such boy or girl should not be 
 adjudged a wayward or delinquent child, as the case may be. If 
 there is no such parent, guardian or person who can be sum¬ 
 moned as aforesaid, the court may appoint a suitable person to 
 act in behalf of such child. 
 
 If such child is summoned, the time for appearance fixed in 
 the summons to a parent, guardian or other person, as herein 
 provided, shall, when practicable, be the same as that fixed for 
 the appearance of said child. 
 
 A summons required by ^this act, unless service thereof is 
 waived in writing, shall be served by a constable or police officer, 
 by delivering it personally to the person to whom it is addressed 
 or by leaving it with a person of proper age to receive the same, 
 at the place of residence or business of such person; and said 
 constable or officer shall immediately make return to the court 
 of the time and manner of the service. 
 
 If the court shall be of opinion that the interests of an 
 alleged wayward or delinquent child require the attendance, at 
 any proceedings, of an agent of the state board of charity, and 
 shall request such attendance, of said board, an agent thereof 
 shall attend such proceedings, to protect the interests of said 
 child. 
 
 Section 5. Hearings upon cases arising under this act may 
 
 10 
 
be adjourned from time to time. A child that has been adjudged 
 by the court a wayward or delinquent child may appeal to the 
 superior court, and such child shall, at the time of such adjudica¬ 
 tion, be notified of its right to appeal. The appeal, if taken, shall 
 be entered, tried and determined in like manner as appeals from 
 trial justices in criminal cases. The provisions of section thirty- 
 four of chapter two hundred and seventeen, and of section 
 twenty-two of chapter two hundred and nineteen of the Revised 
 Laws, relative to recognizances in cases continued or appealed, 
 shall be applicable in cases arising under this act. 
 
 A child under fourteen years of age, who has been held for 
 examination or trial, or to prosecute an appeal to the superior 
 court, if unable to furnish bail, shall be committed to the care of 
 the state board of charity or of a probation officer. The person 
 to whose care it is so committed shall provide for its safe keeping 
 and for its appearance at its examination or trial, or at the prose¬ 
 cution of its appeal. 
 
 A child fourteen or more years of age, so held, if unable to 
 furnish bail shall be so committed to a probation officer, unless 
 the court, upon immediate inquiry, shall be of opinion that, if so 
 committed, such child will not appear at such examination or 
 trial, in which case said child may be committed to jail. 
 
 Said probation officer shall have all the authority, rights and 
 powers, in relation to a child committed to his care under this 
 section, and in relation to a child released to him, as provided in 
 section three, which he would have if he were surety upon the 
 recognizance of such a child. 
 
 Section 6. Courts shall designate suitable times for the 
 hearing of cases of juvenile offenders, and wayward or delinquent 
 children, which shall be called the session for children, for which 
 a separate docket and record shall be kept. Said session shall be 
 separate from that for the trial of criminal cases, and as far as 
 practicable shall be held in rooms not used for such trials. No 
 minor shall be allowed to be present at any such hearing unless 
 his presence is necessary, either as a party or as a witness, or, in 
 the opinion of the court, in the interests of justice. 
 
 Section 7. Every case of a wayward child or a delinquent 
 child shall be investigated by the probation officer, who shall 
 make a report regarding the character of such child, his school 
 record, his home, his surroundings and the previous complaints 
 against him, if any. He shall be present in court at the trial of 
 the case, and furnish the court with such information and as¬ 
 sistance as shall be required. At the end of the probation period 
 of a child that has been placed on probation, the officer in whose 
 care it has been shall make a report as to its conduct during such 
 period. 
 
 Section 8. At the hearing of a complaint against a child 
 the court shall examine such child, and any witnesses that appear, 
 and take such testimony relative to the case as shall be produced. 
 
 11 
 
If the allegations against a child are proved, it may be adjudged 
 a wayward or delinquent child, as the case may be. 
 
 If a child is adjudged a wayward child, the court may place 
 it in the care of a probation officer for such time and upon such 
 conditions as may seem proper, or may deal with it in the manner 
 provided by law for the disposal of the case of a neglected child. 
 
 If a child is adjudged a delinquent child, the court may 
 place the case on file, or may place the child in the care of a pro¬ 
 bation officer for such time and on such conditions as mav seem 
 proper. If it is alleged in the complaint upon which the child is 
 so adjudged, that a law of the Commonwealth has been violated, 
 the court may, with the consent of the state board of charity, 
 authorize said board to take and indenture such child, or place 
 it in charge of any person, and if at any time thereafter such 
 child proves unmanageable, to commit such child, if a boy under 
 fifteen years of age, to the Lyman school for boys, or if a girl 
 under seventeen years of age, to the state industrial school for 
 girls, until such child attains the age of twenty-one years. Said 
 board may provide for the maintenance, in whole or in part, of 
 any child so indentured or placed in charge of any person. 
 
 The court shall also have power to commit such delinquent 
 child to any institution to which it might be committed upon a 
 conviction for such violation of law, excepting a jail or house 
 of correction, and all laws applicable to a boy or girl committed 
 upon such a conviction shall apply to a delinquent child com¬ 
 mitted under this section. 
 
 Section 9 . If a child has been placed in care of a proba¬ 
 tion officer, as provided in this act, said officer, at any time before 
 the final disposition of the case, may arrest such child without 
 a warrant and take him before the court, or the court may issue a 
 warrant for his arrest. When such child is before the court, it 
 may make any disposition of the case which it might have made 
 before said child was placed on probation, or may continue or 
 extend the period of probation. 
 
 If the court shall find that such child has violated the condi¬ 
 tions of its probation, it may impose a fine, not exceeding five 
 dollars, and if the fine is not paid at once, in whole or in part, 
 may order that said child stand committed to a jail until the 
 same is paid, but not exceeding five days. Said court shall sus¬ 
 pend the execution of said order and continue the probation for 
 such time as it shall fix, unless in the opinion of the court such 
 child will default. Said fine may be paid to the probation officer, 
 whereupon the order for commitment shall be void. If at the 
 end of the period of such suspension the probation officer shall 
 report that said fine is unpaid, the court may extend such period, 
 or place the case on file, or revoke the suspension of the execu¬ 
 tion of the order of commitment. If the fine, or any part thereof, 
 is paid to the probation officer, he shall give a receipt therefor, 
 
 12 
 
shall keep a record of the payment, shall pay the same to the 
 clerk of the court at its next session, and shall keep on file the 
 clerk’s receipt therefor. 
 
 Section io. A disposition of any child under this act, or 
 any evidence given in such case, shall not, in any proceeding, in 
 any court, be lawful or proper evidence against such child for 
 any purpose, excepting in subsequent criminal proceedings, or 
 subsequent cases of delinquency or waywardness against the 
 same child. 
 
 Section ii. If it shall be alleged in a complaint made 
 under this act that a boy or girl has committed an offence against 
 a law of the Commonwealth, or has violated a city ordinance or 
 town by-law, and the court shall be of opinion that his or her 
 welfare, and the interests of the public, require that he or she 
 should be tried for said offence or violation, instead of being 
 dealt with as a delinquent child, the court may, after a hearing 
 on said complaint, order that it be dismissed. Criminal proceed¬ 
 ings shall not be begun against any child between the ages of 
 seven and fourteen, except for an offence punishable by death or 
 imprisonment for life, unless proceedings against it as a delin¬ 
 quent child have been begun and dismissed as aforesaid. 
 
 Section 12. If, in adjudging a person to be a delinquent 
 child, the court shall find, as an element of such delinquency, that 
 he has committed an act involving liability in a civil action, and 
 such delinquent child shall be placed on probation, as herein pro¬ 
 vided, the court may require, as a condition, thereof, that he shall 
 make restitution or reparation to the injured person, to such an 
 extent and in such sum as the court shall determine. If the pay¬ 
 ment is not made at once, it shall be made to the probation officer, 
 who shall give a receipt therefor, shall keep a record of the pay¬ 
 ment, shall pay the money to said injured person, and keep on 
 file his receipt therefor. 
 
 Section 13. If a boy or girl is adjudged to be a wayward 
 child or a delinquent child, as defined by this act, a parent of 
 such child who is found to have been responsible for such way¬ 
 wardness or delinquency, shall be punished by a fine of not more 
 than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in jail for not more than 
 six months. 
 
 Section 14. The state board of charity shall have au¬ 
 thority to supervise the probation work for wayward and delin¬ 
 quent children, and to make such inquiries as it considers neces¬ 
 sary in regard to the same, and in its annual report may make 
 such recommendations as it considers advisable for the improve¬ 
 ment of methods of dealing with such children. 
 
 Section 15. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with 
 this act are hereby repealed. 
 
 Section 16. This act shall take effect on the first day of 
 September in the year nineteen hundred and six. 
 
 Approved May 24, ipo6. 
 
 13 
 
THE BOSTON JUVENILE COURT. 
 
 All the provisions of the general delinquent law apply to the 
 Boston Juvenile Court—except the section authorizing the pun¬ 
 ishment of parents for contributing to their children’s wayward¬ 
 ness or delinquency. The jurisdiction of the Court is confined to 
 persons under seventeen and, therefore, parents of children 
 brought before the court must be punished in the old Municipal 
 Court. 
 
 The statute creating the Juvenile Court contains the follow¬ 
 ing special provisions for the handling of children’s cases: — 
 
 1. It provides a judge, a clerk and two probation officers 
 who have no official duties except to deal with children’s cases. 
 
 2. So far as possible all cases shall be heard in the judge’s 
 private room, and all persons whose presence, in the opinion of 
 the court, is not necessary, shall be excluded from the room. The 
 general delinquent law provides merely that children’s cases shall 
 not be heard in an ordinary court room; it does not provide for 
 the exclusion of anybody from the hearings. 
 
 3. The justice ma}^ appoint as many deputy probation offi¬ 
 cers as he may deem desirable. This does not, however, give the 
 deputies any authority which would not be possessed by any 
 ordinary citizen who might undertake to assist any other court 
 by obtaining information or giving oversight, and it is therefore 
 merely a formal sanction by the legislature of the use of volun¬ 
 teers which has always been made to some extent. 
 
 4. Any officer arresting a child in the jurisdiction of the 
 Juvenile Court may release the child on the written promise of 
 the parent, the guardian, or any reputable person, to have the 
 child in court when wanted. 
 
 5. The superintendent of schools and all teachers are re¬ 
 quired to give the court any information desired at any time in 
 regard to the attendance, conduct and standing of any pupil 
 brought before the court. 
 
 14 
 
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE BOSTON 
 JUVENILE COURT. 
 
 [Acts of 1906 , Chapter 489 .] 
 
 Section i. A court is hereby established in the city of 
 Boston, to be known as the Boston Juvenile Court. 
 
 Section 2. Said court shall consist of one justice and two 
 special justices, who shall be appointed by the governor, with the 
 advice and consent of the council. There shall be a clerk of 
 said court who shall also be appointed by the governor, with the 
 advice and consent of the council, for a term of five years. In 
 case of the absence, death or removal of the clerk, the court may 
 appoint a clerk pro tempore, who shall act until the clerk resumes 
 his duties, or until the vacancy is filled. The said court shall 
 have a proper seal, and all processes issuing therefrom shall be 
 under the seal of the court, shall be signed by the clerk, and shall 
 bear the teste of the justice of the court, unless his office is 
 vacant, in which case it shall bear the teste of a special justice of 
 the court. 
 
 Section 3. The justice of the said court shall be pajd a 
 salary of three thousand dollars per annum. The special justices 
 shall be paid for each day’s actual service at the same rate as the 
 rate by the day of the salary of the justice of the court; but com¬ 
 pensation for services in excess of thirty days in any one calen¬ 
 dar year shall be deducted by the county treasurer from the sal¬ 
 ary of the justice of the court. The clerk shall receive an annual 
 salary of fifteen hundred dollars. The said salaries shall be paid 
 by the county of Suffolk, in the same manner as the salaries of 
 the justices, special justices and clerks of the municipal court of 
 said city are now paid. Suitable rooms for the sittings of the 
 court and for the officers thereof shall be provided in the Suffolk 
 county court house. 
 
 Section 4. All the jurisdiction, authority and powers vest¬ 
 ed in the municipal court of the city of Boston or the justices 
 thereof, or which are conferred upon municipal courts by chapter 
 four hundred and thirteen of the acts of the year nineteen hun¬ 
 dred and six, which involve the trial, sentencing, commitment or 
 other disposal of a child under the age of seventeen years, or the 
 receiving of complaints and the issuing of summonses, warrants 
 or other processes in relation thereto, or which relate to the care 
 of neglected children, under chapter three hundred and thirty- 
 four of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and three, and acts 
 in amendment thereof or in addition thereto, are hereby trans- 
 
 16 
 
ferred to, and vested in, the court hereby established, and in the 
 justice and special justices thereof; and the said court shall 
 have jurisdiction over such other matters as m.ay come before it 
 under this act. All the provisions of law which relate to police, 
 district or municipal courts, to the justices, special justices and 
 clerks thereof, or to the rights, duties and liabilities of parties to 
 proceedings therein, shall, so far as they may be appropriate, ap¬ 
 ply to said court, its justice, special justices and clerk, and to the 
 parties to proceedings therein, except as herein otherwise pro¬ 
 vided. The court hereby established may continue from time to 
 time the hearing in respect to any child given under the provi¬ 
 sions of this act, and may commit such child to any institution to 
 which a district or municipal court in the city of Boston is now, or 
 may hereafter be, authorized to commit such child, or may im¬ 
 pose any penalty which said courts are authorized to impose. 
 The court may from time to time make general rules in reference 
 to, and provide forms of, procedure. 
 
 Section 5. So far as possible the court shall hear all cases 
 in chambers; and all persons, whose presence, in the opinion of 
 the court, is not necessary, shall be excluded from the room. 
 
 Section 6 . The justice of the court hereby established shall 
 appoint two probation officers, each of whom shall hold office 
 during the pleasure of the said justice, and shall have general 
 authority to serve such process as may be directed to either of 
 them by the court. The provisions of chapter two hundred and 
 seventeen of the Revised Laws, and of all other statutes now or 
 hereafter applicable to probation officers connected with courts 
 in the city of Boston, shall, so far as they may be appropriate, 
 apply to said probation officers, except as herein otherwise pro¬ 
 vided. The justice may also appoint as many deputy probation 
 officers, without salary, as he may deem desirable. They shall 
 assist probation officers in such ways as the court may direct in 
 making investigations of cases of children against whom com¬ 
 plaints have been made, and in the care of children who have 
 been placed on probation. 
 
 Section 7. In case a warrant is issued by the court for a 
 child’s arrest, or in case a child between the ages of seven and 
 seventeen years is arrested without a warrant, as provided by 
 law, in order to avoid the incarceration of the child, if practicable, 
 the officer to whom said warrant is delivered, or who has arrested 
 the child without a warrant, as the case may be, may, unless the 
 justice or magistrate of the court issuing such warrant has other¬ 
 wise directed in the warrant, accept the written promise of the 
 parent, guardian or person with whom it is stated that said child 
 resides, or any other reputable person, to be responsible for the 
 presence of said child in court at the time and place when the 
 child is to appear, and at any other time to which the hearing in 
 the case may be continued or adjourned by the court. Nothing 
 
 16 
 
herein contained shall be construed to prevent the admitting of 
 said child to bail, in accordance with sections twenty-nine and 
 thirty of chapter two hundred and seventeen of the Revised Laws. 
 
 Section 8. It shall be the duty of the superintendent of 
 the Boston public schools, and of any teacher therein, and of the 
 person, society or corporation in charge of any private school, 
 and of the teachers therein, to furnish to the said court from 
 time to time any information and reports requested by the justice 
 thereof relating to the attendance, conduct and standing of any 
 pupil under his, her or its charge, if said pupil is at the time 
 under the charge of the court hereby established. 
 
 Section 9. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith 
 are hereby repealed. 
 
 Section 10. This act shall take effect upon its passage, so 
 far as the appointing, commissioning and qualifying of the jus¬ 
 tice, special justices and clerk of the court hereby established 
 are concerned; and it shall be in full force and effect, and the 
 authority and jurisdiction of the court hereby established and of 
 the probation officers thereof shall begin, on the first day of Sep¬ 
 tember in the year nineteen hundred and six, except that the 
 municipal court of the city of Boston^shall have power to dis¬ 
 pose of all cases of juvenile offenders or neglected children which 
 may be pending before it when this act takes full effect. 
 
 Approved June 15, igo6. 
 
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